Air Coryell

Before Coryell, NFL teams generally used the pro set formation[3] in ball-control, grind-it-out-style offenses that used play-action fakes to set up deep passing attempts when defenses stacked up vs the running game. The pro set features a tight end, two wide receivers, a halfback, and a fullback, often split behind the quarterback. On pass plays, the pro set provided one or even two backs to help protect the quarterback. QBs generally took snaps from under center to allow for more effective use of the play action pass.[4]

In 1978, the contact from defenders on receivers was minimized with the passing of the Mel Blount Rule, which prohibited defenders from making contact with receivers past five yards from the line of scrimmage.[5][6]

After Coryell arrived in the NFL from jobs with college football teams, he set the league on its ear with his passing offenses. He won two consecutive division titles (1974–1975) with the St. Louis Cardinals, whose offense emphasized the pass while running the standard pro set.[7] Coryell moved to the Chargers and reached the playoffs in four consecutive seasons that included three straight division titles (1979–1982). The Chargers in 1979 were the first AFC Western Division champion to run more passing plays (541) than rushing (481).[8] Coryell's Chargers teams led the league in passing in seven of eight years.[9] The Pro Football Hall of Fame called the Chargers' offenses under Coryell "one of the most explosive and exciting offenses that ever set foot on an NFL field."[10] Coryell was the first coach to win more than 100 games at both the collegiate and professional level. Coryell's offensive innovations changed the entire nature of the league from a run-first league to a pass-first one.

As of 2022, most NFL offenses' passing games are based at least partially on Coryell conventions.

Mike Martz, who ran The Greatest Show on Turf with the St. Louis Rams, said, "Don is the father of the modern passing game. People talk about the West Coast offense, but Don started the 'West Coast' decades ago and kept updating it. You look around the NFL now, and so many teams are running a version of the Coryell offense. Coaches have added their own touches, but it's still Coryell's offense. He has disciples all over the league. He changed the game".[11]

The Coryell offense is based on Sid Gillman's offense that required the defense to defend the entire field.[6] The passing game was based on timing and rhythm, and coaching the system required a lot of repetition.[12] Coryell expanded on those principles by putting receivers in motion. With the new defensive rules limiting contact to near the line of scrimmage, receivers in motion would be virtually impossible to jam. Coryell not only placed wide receivers in motion, he did so with tight ends and running backs as well. Putting the players in motion also had the advantage of allowing the quarterback to determine pre-snap if the defense would be playing zone or man-to-man defense.[6] It was easier to read the coverage before the snap than afterwards due to the pass rush.[12] It is also harder for a defender to cover if he has to change direction with the receiver instead of squaring up and getting set before a play. Defenses that react to the motion could get confused, leaving a defender in the wrong position.[13]

The offense did not have any set formations, as receivers could line up anywhere on any given pass play.[6] Passes were thrown to a spot before the receiver even got there, allowing defenders no hint where the pass was being targeted.[14] Each receiver had two or three different route options they could adjust depending on the coverage during the play.[15] Throwing a deep pass was the first option on each play.[12] Coryell's offense had more progressions than Gillman's, with backup options for screen passes and underneath routes.[16]

The Coryell offense is a combination of deep and mid range passing and power running.[17] The offense relies on getting all five receivers out into patterns that combined stretched the field, setting up defensive backs with route technique, and the quarterback throwing to a spot on time where the receiver can catch and turn upfield. Pass protection is critical to success because at least two of the five receivers will run a deep in, skinny post, comeback, speed out, or shallow cross.

Overall, the goal of the Coryell offense is to have at least two downfield, fast wide receivers who adjust to the deep pass very well, combined with a sturdy pocket quarterback with a strong arm. The Coryell offense uses three key weapons. The first is a strong inside running game, the second is its ability to strike deep with two or more receivers on any play, and the third is to not only use those two attacks in cooperation with each other, but to include a great deal of mid-range passing to a TE, WR, or back.

The Coryell offense introduced the concept of a tight end that ran wide receiver-type routes with Kellen Winslow in 1980.[18] Tight ends previously were primarily blockers lined up next to an offensive lineman and ran short to medium drag routes.[19] Winslow was put in motion so he would not be jammed at the line, or he was lined up wide or in the slot against a smaller cornerback.[18] Former Chargers assistant coach Al Saunders said Winslow was "a wide receiver in an offensive lineman's body."[19] Back then, defenses would cover Winslow with a strong safety or a linebacker, as zone defenses were not as popular.[20] Strong safeties in those times were almost like another linebacker, a run defender who could not cover a tight end as fast as Winslow. Providing another defender to help the strong safety opened up other holes.[21] Head coach Jon Gruden called Winslow the first "joker" in the NFL. He could line up unpredictably in any formation from a three-point stance as a blocker to a two-point stance or being in motion as a receiver.[22]

After the Chargers in 1980 acquired running back Chuck Muncie, the offense started using a single set back featuring Muncie as the lone running back and adding a second tight end into the game. When defenses countered with extra defensive backs, the offense would run the ball. Joe Gibbs, the Chargers offensive coordinator at the time, said that marked "the evolution of the one-back offense."[23]

Gibbs served as head coach of the Washington Redskins from 1981-1992, and during that time, he won three Super Bowls with a Coryell offense. [24] His offense featured a smash mouth running game with 3 different running backs, Hall of Famer John Riggins, George Rogers and Earnest Byner, behind a massive offensive line known as the "Hogs." Gibbs's offense also showcased a 3-receiver deep air attack featuring Hall of Famer Art Monk, Gary Clark and Ricky Sanders, known as "The Posse." Gibbs usually kept the tight end in as an extra blocker, especially to neutralize pass rushing specialist and Hall of Fame linebacker Lawrence Taylor of the New York Giants. Today, many Coryell offenses still reduce the use a tight end, except in the red zone,.

Gibbs, who earned induction into the Pro Football Hall of Fame for his work as Redskins head coach, is also the first head coach in NFL history to win 3 Super Bowls with 3 different quarterbacks: Joe Theismann, Doug Williams, and Mark Rypien. Gibbs also coached the Redskins from 2004-2007, but was unable to duplicate the success he enjoyed during his first term in Washington.

Norv Turner, a former Washington Redskins and San Diego Chargers head coach, and offensive coordinator for many NFL teams (most notably for the Dallas Cowboys during the early 1990s), also implemented a version of the Coryell style of offense. The Turner strain of Coryell offenses are still very reliant on a good receiving TE. Norv Turner strains sometimes feature an 'F-Back' (formerly known as an 'H-Back' in the 1980s), a hybrid tight end/wide receiver/fullback/running back. An F-Back is a multi-purpose, unpredictable tool for the offense. On any play he may carry the ball, lead block or pass block, play as a wide receiver, or run a tight end route. He is also part decoy, as his unpredictable role forces defenses to keep an eye on him, thereby opening up other opportunities for the offense..

Originally it was known as the West Coast offense until an article about San Francisco 49ers Head Coach Bill Walsh in Sports Illustrated in the early 80s incorrectly called Walsh's offense "the West Coast offense," and this mis-labelling stuck. Subsequently, Coryell's offense scheme was referred to as "Air Coryell"—the name announcers had assigned to his high powered Charger offenses in San Diego, featuring 3 Hall of Famers in QB Dan Fouts, WR Charlie Joiner, & TE Kellen Winslow,[25] as well as Pro Bowl WR Wes Chandler & HB Chuck Muncie. Today it is also known as the "Coryell offense", although the "vertical offense" is another accepted name.

In NFL coaching circles, the most famous and successful advocates of the Air Coryell system are Norv Turner, Mike Martz and Al Saunders.

The Coryell offense attacked vertically through seams, while the West Coast offense moved laterally as much as vertically through angles on curl and slant routes.[34] The Coryell offense had lower completion percentages than the West Coast offense, but the returns were greater on a successful play. "The Coryell offense required more talented players, a passer who could get the ball there, and men who can really run—a lot of them," said Walsh.[35] He said the West Coast offense was developed out of necessity to operate with less talented players. He noted, "[Coryell] already had the talent and used it brilliantly."[35]

Former head coach Marty Schottenheimer said "putting three receivers on one side and flooding that area" probably originated from the Coryell offense.[36] Head coach Bill Belichick notes that the pass-catching tight ends that get paid the most money are "all direct descendants of Kellen Winslow" and there are fewer tight ends now that can block on the line.[22] Former defensive coordinator Joe Collier credits the Coryell offense with creating an evolution by using multiple receivers, forcing defenses to counter with different packages. As a result, more defensive backs were drafted, and linebackers that could also cover inside receivers were sought.[37] Defenses were altered to use nickel and dime defenses in response to offensive formation; their usage was no longer limited to down and distance.[38] Former head coach Dick Vermeil said no other NFL offense "performs more efficiently or scores more points" than the Coryell offense.[39]

• Air raid offense

• An explanation of the Coryell Offense (The Daily Norseman)